[thirugata]

Traveled to Surathkal on 21st.
I had full day at my dsiposal so took a roundabout route and added a couple of pit-stops en-route.
Left home in Bangalore at 6:00 AM, Reached Hassan at 9:15 AM and Chikkamagalur at at 10:45 AM.
Road condition - Nothing new to add, same as last few updates from other BHPens.

Had some snacks in World of Coffee cafe and bought filter coffee powders of Madhu Coffee and Panduranga Coffee.
Took deviation from Belur to Chikkamnagalur as advised by other BHPens ( https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route...e-queries.html (Bangalore to Dharmastala / Kukke / Sringeri / Horanadu : Route Queries) ) , road was good except for a KM road which had few potholes.

Reached Sringeri at 1:45 PM, just in time before the closure of temple for the afternoon.
Road condition was good with some roughed up patches, its 2 lane winding road.
Completed darshana and lunch at temple by 2:30 PM.

Stopped for a coffee at Hotel Seethanadi after the Agumbe ghat.
https://goo.gl/maps/64PQTLbttADdnnkv5
The road is in excellent condition but narrow, but you need to be comfortable driving through hairpin bends here.

Visited Varanga Jain temple at 4:00 PM and reached Surathkal by 6:00 PM.
Varanga - Surathkal was through Karkala - Padubidiri. Road condition was excellent.

All in all an addition of 60 KMs, but got to drive in Agumbe after 6 - 7 years. It was worth the extra miles.





Sringeri Shri Sharadamba temple



Malgudi Day's fame Dodda Mane, Agumbe



Varanga Jain temple

[razeetg]

So I'm driving with my Honda City to Mangalore. Based on the posts here I'm sticking with Charmadi ghat. Just wondering -- has anyone recently driven on a hatchback or sedan through Shiradi route? Just how bad is the drive?

[MoonRider]

Originally Posted by razeetg

So I'm driving with my Honda City to Mangalore. Based on the posts here I'm sticking with Charmadi ghat. Just wondering -- has anyone recently driven on a hatchback or sedan through Shiradi route? Just how bad is the drive?

The roads after Sakleshpur are bad. Low gc vehicles have to tread very carefully. Charmadi ghat is a better option.

[thirugata]

Drove to Bangalore from Mangalore yesterday via Charmadi.
Nothing new to add about road conditions.
Stopped for a coffee at Grower's coffee house https://goo.gl/maps/tSCbYzCsLcTQ44Fb9 , this is in between Belur and Mudigere at the junction where you take diversion to either Mudigere or Sakleshpur.
Good place for coffee/breakfast/lunch. Has clean washrooms.

[pravarag]

Tavelled with family this past weekend from Bangalore to Mangalore and return via Charmady ghat route. The roads were super good, not a single rough patch except for diversions on NH75. I would highly recommend this route over Shirady ghat road.

[razeetg]

Thanks everyone. I drove through Charmady as well while going and coming. The roads were definitely good. I was wondering only because my wife sometimes gets car sick during hair pin bends.

[siby712]

I did a Bangalore-Mangalore-Bangalore solo drive. My onward trip was on the 26th of January through Charmady and my return journey was on 29th Jan through Madikeri,Mysore. Through Charmady the roads were good,traffic was thick till Hassan and beyond that it reduced. On my return leg only the first 10km was bad, other than that roads were good. I got stuck on the Mysore Bangalore highway at couple of places where road work is happening. Lost around 45 mins or so there. Overall both routes are fine.

[pradeep_v_k]

I did a BLR - Udupi & back trip last week. Took the Bangalore - Hassan - Belur - Mudigere - Charmadi - Udupi . Roads are in good condition . Hassan to BLR stretch had of traffic on Sunday evening.

[gajadonga]

Traveled to Sringeri and back last weekend.

Road conditions upto Hassan is good.

Hassan to Belur is also in good condition.

Belur - Chikkamangaluru Rough patches but overall good conditions. Need to be careful while driving in the night as the road median appears suddenly mostly in the blind curves of the road.

Chikkamangaluru - Vastare good roads but not wide enough need to be careful while overtaking.

Vastare - Sringeri Wider road occasional patches of rough roads .

On the return came through Sakleshpur and had to see some my friends in Tiptur has a detour.

Sakleshpur - Hassan Four lane work is going on with some stretches completed .

Hassan - Tiptur excellent road conditions.

Tiptur - Tumkur - Four laning is in progress with almost 70 percent completed some overpasses and town bypass yet to be completed

Tumkur - Nelamangla It was like moving city traffic.

[its_saurabh81]

I'll be travelling to Brahmavara this Saturday (4th Feb) with family members in a four car convoy (Hyundai Venue, Ford Ecosport, Jeep Compass and Kia Seltos). Except me (driving in my Venue), its a first time trip for almost all the family members. I want them to have nice experience, so trying my best to figure out routes, restaurants, etc and will really appreciate if you can help me out here with the choices. We are planning to start at 6am from Marathahalli. We don't have a spare driver, so single driver will be manning all the way.

Route options:
1. Bangalore - Mysore - Coorg - Sulya - Mangalore - Udupi - Brahmavar: Not planning to take this as the distance is more, even though, with the new Bangalore-Mysore expressway, the lure is there.
2. Shirady Ghat - Have read multiple horror stories of the road conditions in Shirady ghats, so giving this a miss.
3. Agumbe Ghat - In terms of distance, this is the shortest route and often suggested by Google Maps, however, I am not a big fan of thin and curvy roads, specially with some motion-sickness prone family members travelling with me.
4. Bangalore - Hassan - Belur - Charmady Ghat - Belthangady - Mudbidri - Karkala - Udupi - Brahmavara: This has been suggested to me by a frequent traveller, but I am thinking of skipping this in favour of point 5.
5. Bangalore - Hassan - Belur - Charmady Ghat - Belthangady - Bantwal - Mangaluru - Udupi - Brahmavar: This is my most favourable choice at the moment, primarily because of the excellent highway between Mangalore and Brahmavar and also for all kinds of food options that we can plan at Mangalore for lunch.

Food/Restrooms options:
1. Breakfast at Empire Kunigal, hopefully by 8:30am.
2. Lunch - absolutely no idea as of now. Kindly suggest.

Looking forward to hear from the experts on whether the route seems good and most importantly, where to go for some good non-veg lunch please. Thanks.

[Sanbhat1611]

Originally Posted by its_saurabh81

I'll be travelling to Brahmavara this Saturday (4th Feb) with family members in a four car convoy (Hyundai Venue, Ford Ecosport, Jeep Compass and Kia Seltos). Except me (driving in my Venue), its a first time trip for almost all the family members. I want them to have nice experience, so trying my best to figure out routes, restaurants, etc and will really appreciate if you can help me out here with the choices. We are planning to start at 6am from Marathahalli. We don't have a spare driver, so single driver will be manning all the way.

Route options:
1. Bangalore - Mysore - Coorg - Sulya - Mangalore - Udupi - Brahmavar: Not planning to take this as the distance is more, even though, with the new Bangalore-Mysore expressway, the lure is there.
2. Shirady Ghat - Have read multiple horror stories of the road conditions in Shirady ghats, so giving this a miss.
3. Agumbe Ghat - In terms of distance, this is the shortest route and often suggested by Google Maps, however, I am not a big fan of thin and curvy roads, specially with some motion-sickness prone family members travelling with me.
4. Bangalore - Hassan - Belur - Charmady Ghat - Belthangady - Mudbidri - Karkala - Udupi - Brahmavara: This has been suggested to me by a frequent traveller, but I am thinking of skipping this in favour of point 5.
5. Bangalore - Hassan - Belur - Charmady Ghat - Belthangady - Bantwal - Mangaluru - Udupi - Brahmavar: This is my most favourable choice at the moment, primarily because of the excellent highway between Mangalore and Brahmavar and also for all kinds of food options that we can plan at Mangalore for lunch.

Food/Restrooms options:
1. Breakfast at Empire Kunigal, hopefully by 8:30am.
2. Lunch - absolutely no idea as of now. Kindly suggest.

Looking forward to hear from the experts on whether the route seems good and most importantly, where to go for some good non-veg lunch please. Thanks.

ROUTE# 3: I recently did a Kundapura-Bangalore via Agumbe (Route # 3) above. Agumbe ghats were newly laid and ride was smooth. Few steep curves but traffic was less. Also it would be descend for you, will be easier than ascend. Just ensure you drive in 2nd - 3rd gears. Said that it is one of the shortest ghats and will be over before you realise. Also I drove via Koteshwar and not sure of the Hebri-Brahmavara road condition. You can give this a skip if not comfortable. Also less places to eat (Less highway restaurants) in this route.

ROUTE # 4: I drove from BLR-Kundapura through this route, it is good throughout. Also you can plan your lunch at "Fresh Bean Cafe" (between Mudigere and Kottigehara). This is BEST ROUTE I would say, its shorter and second fastest option

ROUTE # 5: This is good route too but the longest. Said that, Mangalore to Brahmavara will be a breeze via the NH66. But this comes at a cost (Tolls and adhoc barricades --- Don't forget additional top-ups for your Fastag), also it can get monotonous driving on the straight road for hours. Though this route is the longest, its hassle-free and you will catchup on the time through higher speed on NH66 and might reach earlier than expected :-)

Hope above info helps. Wish you a great drive

[rave20]

Need to visit Siddapura (nearby to Kamalashile / Hebri / Halady) in next few days.

Google is suggesting me 2 options

Option 1: Bangalore - Tumkur - Sira - Hiruyur - Tarikere - Ranganathpura - Thirthahalli - Hulikal - Siddapura

Option 2: Bangalore - Hassan - Belur - Aldur - Balehonnur - Hariharapura - Hiremane - Agumbe - Amavasebailu - Siddapura

Distance wise both are almost the same. I will be starting at 4:30pm from bangalore and plan to reach post 10pm. Travelling with family.

-Which is the best route to take? - I have done Blore - Hassan - Belur multiple times and confident of this route and time... not so much about Tumkur route.
- Since we are starting the evening, what would be the good place to stop for dinner?

[ankan.m.blr]

Please help with the best route from Bangalore to Kudremukha (JLR Bhagawati Nature Camp). I traveled to Kudremukha pre-covid and drove through Bangalore - Neelamangala - Hassan - Belur - Mudigere - Kottigehera - Kalasa. Is this still the best route in terms of road conditions?

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by ankan.m.blr

Please help with the best route from Bangalore to Kudremukha (JLR Bhagawati Nature Camp). I traveled to Kudremukha pre-covid and drove through Bangalore - Neelamangala - Hassan - Belur - Mudigere - Kottigehera - Kalasa. Is this still the best route in terms of road conditions?

The route will be via Belur Mudigere Kottigehara Balur Kalasa Samse.

Condition of roads after Kalasa are OKish and haven't improved since quite some time now.

If you want to approach this from the other side, you may as well do Mudigere Kottigehara Charmadi Ujire Guruvayanakere Naravi Bajagoli and then climb up the ghats to reach Bhagavati. But this is going to be nearly double the distance through considering the route conditions it will take only 45 minutes more.

[dailydriver]

Bengaluru-Mangaluru

Yesterday, His Excellency The Honourable Governor of Karnataka paid a visit to Subramanya. The wise man that he is, he forsake the Shiradi and traversed the Charmadi ghat route, with a lunch break near Mudigere.



When the first citizen of the state wouldn't go through the regular route, shouldn't the lesser mortals follow his tyre treads?

As things stand, Charmadi and to a lesser extent Bisle are the right/best options. Once the Shiradi mess gets addressed, that would of course be the default choice; until at least the next phase of road erosion sets in!